Bloody Mary
by Vintage Taylor
Summary: Filler chapter from Walking Towards the Sunset that was never published. Deciding to take a break from training for The World Martial Arts Tournament, Videl tells Goten and Gohan about an urban legend from her childhood. Eager to try it out, the boys find the horrifying truth. It's up to grumpy grandpa Bardock to save the day, as usual. (Complete)


**A/N:** Hello! If anyone reading this right now follows me, you'll know I have a story up called "Walking Towards the Sunset". You don't need to really read it to understand what's going on this one-shot, but just know Bardock was transported to Earth after defeating Lord Chilled and lives with our favorite family ;p This is during the time before The World Martial Arts Tournament, before Goku comes back.

A little chapter that was taken out of the story because I wanted to get right to the action. :-) "A filler", I suppose, but I still wanted to write it because I love the brats and grumpy grandpa Bardock. I guess you could say this is just to get me back into characterizing my favorite family as well :-)

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

* * *

Videl ran her fingers through her freshly short cut hair, completely forgetting the residue from Chi-Chi's pork chops still lingered on her skin and caused her hair to become slightly greasy. A gentle breeze blew through it, first touching her's and then the hair of Chi-Chi. It gently caressed the misplaced black wisps amid a rather neat bun.

After the wind had reached the mother of two, it decided to play with eighteen year old Gohan's, who was too busy stuffing his face to notice it. So, the wind decided to move on to the little boy and his grandfather sharing a seat. Noticing they were arguing over who got to eat the last chop, the wind attacked their similar hairstyles furiously for not paying attention to it.

"Son of a bitch!" Bardock snarled, cursing at the wind that continued to attack the picnic table. It was a typical routine for the family and Videl; training for the World Martial Arts Tournament followed by lunch time and more training until Videl went home. Then, the actual training would begin. The wind was so strong that it had blown the piece of meat off the table and landed on the grass beneath their feet. Gohan, Goten, and Bardock exchanged hungry looks, daring each other to move with their eyes.

Chi-Chi fumed, getting to her feet and snatching up the pork chop quickly. She smacked her father-in-law hard in the face with it, ignoring the killer look in his eyes while he glared up at her. "I take offense to that, Bardock! None of you will be getting this, and none of you are going to train in this wild weather!"

"Aw!" Goten whined, but his eyes remained on the dangling pork chops in his mother's hand. "Why not, Mama!?"

"You saw how this fell off the table!" Chi-Chi shook the meat, and began heading towards the house with her nose in the air. "It could send my little boy to the other side of the world!"

"What bullshit," Bardock muttered under his breath and took a look at his oldest grandson. "Do you believe this!?"

Gohan blushed slightly, but was able to hide his red face behind the plate he was licking. To be completely honest with himself, he didn't want to train today. That's all they've done the past two weeks, for crying out loud! Lick, lick, lick. It wasn't the training with his brother and grandfather that made it difficult surprisingly, it was training with that stubborn girl! He lowered the plate a little so only his forehead and eyes were showing as he glanced at Videl.

"I think it would be nice to take a break," he chuckled nervously, not taking his eyes off Videl's tired face in fear of seeing his grandfather kill him with his orbs. "What do you think, Videl?"

The girl took a look over at where Chi-Chi was, the woman gesturing for Videl to join her inside. With extreme guilt in her blue, blue eyes, Videl nodded and began to stand up slowly. Ever since her terrible first encounter with her trainer's mother, she felt like she owed her something - even if it meant a momentary cease of improving her flying skills. "I think it sounds like a good idea. I mean, what's the harm with spending a normal afternoon together like a family or something?" Realizing what she had just said, the girl blushed and quickly made her way over to Chi-Chi.

Goten's mouth turned into a giant grin while watching his mother and Videl go inside the house. "Ooh! Does that mean she's going to be my sister, Gohan!?"

"WHAT!?" The teenager held his cleaned plate to his chest, as if he could hide his emotions that way while Bardock raised an eyebrow. "Will you guys stop going on about that!? We're not going to marry each other!"

The scar-faced Saiyan pointed at his red-faced grandson, seeing right through him. "Careful, kid. From what I've seen, she's just like your mother." He then proceeded to shudder, and then got off the seat with Goten copying his exact movements. "And I know what they'll do if we don't oblige, so hurry your ass up and get inside."

Gohan blinked in disbelief, and his eyesbrows furrowed. "Hey! I was the one that said it would be nice to take a break!"

Bardock glanced over his shoulder at the teen, who was surrounded by all their plates and mess that had been blown around by the ferocious wind. Goten had already wrapped his arms around his grandfather's leg, and Bardock knew the leech would remain there until he made it inside the house. He began to chuckle darkly, hearing Chi-Chi calling for them. "How sweet; it looks like you're volunteering to clean, too! Thanks for recommending a break, kid, I really appreciate it!"

Gohan's eye began to twitch as Goten laughed joyously that his grandfather had duped his brother, and Bardock walked with his leech wrapped tightly around his leg into the home where two women were waiting on them. The lone teenager dropped his head in defeat, the wind pressing a greasy napkin against the side of his face.

* * *

The break had proven to be absolutely boring, especially to little Goten.

The boy sighed heavily, placing his chin in his hands as he watched his mother and future sister-in-law talk about what the fighting was like in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament; the same one where his father he never met had competed in and won. His eyes traveled over to his brother, who was slouched in a chair with his arms across his chest in a pout. Finally, the child caught sight of Bardock laying on the sofa face-down with a pillow over his head to block on the inane chatter.

Goten sighed again.

Chi-Chi momentarily stopped her daydreaming to glance down at her youngest son on the carpet. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Mama," the boy groaned, trying his hardest not to sound disrespectful but it's so darn hard when everything was so boring! "I don't care if the wind takes me away! Training is better than just sitting here!"

Videl clasped her hands together, thinking of something that would immediately cheer the boy up. "Hey, Goten! You ever hear about Bloody Mary?" The boys ears perked up, while Chi-Chi scowled at the teenage girl.

"I'm ashamed, Videl! I thought you were a nice girl! Goten will not participate in any alcohol related activities, thank you very much!"

The black haired beauty blushed immediately, realizing that Chi-Chi had gotten her all wrong. "No, no!" Videl spoke in a panic, placing her hands in front of her to show the mother she meant no harm. "I'm talking about this urban legend that my friends and I always tried when we were little!"

Chi-Chi raised an eyebrow, not fully trusting the girl. "And it's not alcohol related?"

"Nope!" Videl beamed, figuring she might be in the clear. "I promise!"

There was a groaning sound coming from the sofa, and four sets of eyes all focused on Bardock who was speaking into the red material. "Stop. Talking!"

Ignoring the grumpy gramps, Videl rolled her eyes and continued as she signaled Goten to come closer. The boy eagerly obliged, excited to hear about this Bloody Mary person. Gohan, not having the opportunity to be around other kids much until this point in his life, sat up straight too in equal anticipation. Videl cleared her throat, trying to sound as exciting as possible to her mini audience. "Long ago, young women would walk up a flight of stairs backwards while holding a candle in one hand and a mirror in another. The image of their future husband would appear in the mirror, but if Bloody Mary appeared instead, it means they were destined to die before marriage!"

The girl held in a giggle when she realized Gohan was now on the floor below her beside Goten; both of the boys pulling on their bottom lip just waiting to hear more. Even Chi-Chi was on the edge of her seat, biting her nails! Bardock was still grumbling into the sofa, pulling his pillow on him tighter in hopes of muting his annoyances completely. Videl cleared her throat once more before continuing, making her voice sound more eerie.

"Today, at least when I was a kid, Bloody Mary will appear to those who invoke her name. You chant it three times in a row in a single candle lit room in front of a mirror, like a bathroom. But you must be prepared to turn on the light when she appears, because if you don't-" She looked at the three, feeling pride swell up in her chest when their eyes were extremely wide. "She'll come out of the mirror and strangle you!"

"AH!" Gohan and Goten screamed loudly and in unison, causing Videl to laugh while Bardock groaned even louder. When he jumped to his feet with the red pillow in his hand, Chi-Chi glanced up at him with a frown.

"Where are you going?"

"Outside," he snarled and began stomping his way to the front door, letting them know that they were the reason. "So I can finally rest!"

Goten scrambled to his feet, running to his grandfather's side and tugging at his leg to stop him. "No, Grandpa! You can't! The wind will take you away from us!"

"Kid. You can either go out there and be blown away with me, or stay inside and be safe with Mommy. Your choice."

The child quickly let go of his grandfather, but not without a pout. He crossed his little arms over his chest as Bardock slammed the door shut behind him. "Well," he huffed and turned his attention back to the remaining family members. "I guess he won't get to try to summon Bloody Mary with us!"

"Is this actual real, Videl?" Gohan blinked, tugging at the collar of his navy workout tank to get rid of his nervous sweat. "Like, have you actually _seen_ Bloody Mary?"

The girl bit her bottom lip and lowered her head, as if she was holding onto a deep, dark secret. Chi-Chi's eyes widened, not realizing that this crazy legend had any truth to it. "Uhm, Videl? What is it, dear?"

Videl raised her head up slowly, fiddling around with the hem of her long, white shirt as if she was nervous. "I can't remember it perfectly well, but I remember seeing a woman covered in blood looking back at me in the mirror for a quick second before a friend of mine turned the lights back on."

Goten screamed once again, while Gohan felt his palms become sweaty. That kid had seen a lot of weird stuff in his life, but never a bloody ghost woman in a mirror. Thinking about evil ghosts just didn't settle well in his stomach. "Gohan, Gohan!" He glanced down to see his little brother tugging on his arm with eager eyes. "I wanna try it with you! Let's go!"

"Me?" Gohan backed away, shaking his head wildly. "I don't think so, little buddy!"

"Oh, come on!" Videl smirked and winked, crossing her dainty arms over her chest. "I thought the Saiyaman was a bit more courageous than that."

The teen opened his mouth to say something, but when he thought of nothing, he closed it. Then, he opened it again. "I am courageous. It's just-"

"Alright!" Videl jumped to her feet, yanking the candle off the top of the coffee table to the side of her chair. "Let's get you two in there!"

"But I-"

"Yay yay yay!" Goten cheered wildly, following Videl to the bathroom while Gohan looked on in defeat. He glanced at his mother for support, but to his surprise, she was already gone off somewhere else. He thought about escaping through the front door, telling his grandfather to let everyone knew the wind had taken him away to a faraway land where there were no evil ghosts or pushy women - which, in his opinion, where the same thing. He got to his feet, prepared to sneak out when his little brother's calls stopped him in his tracks. "Come on, Gohan! I can't do it without my big brother by my side!"

The poor half Saiyan knew he had no choice.

"Coming!" He managed to call out with a nervous voice, trudging his way to where the two brats were waiting on him.

* * *

Bardock smiled, _actually smiled_ to himself when he realized he had just made a beautiful decision. The time traveling Saiyan warrior was sprawled out on his back, his messy-haired head resting on top of the red pillow he had taken with him. Random white flowers danced joyously in the wind beside him, while the sun kissed his already tan skin. He took in a deep breath, wishing he could keep the smell with him to remember the beautiful Mount Paozu when he would find himself somewhere else.

He opened both of his eyes slowly, taking in the sight of different shaped clouds roaming their way through a light blue ocean of a sky. He let out the breath he had taken in, a strange feeling rising in his chest as he thought about that there would be a day when he would leave this place against his will. Leave his new family. His new life.

Bardock watched as a cloud seemingly took on a shape of little Goten, jumping up in his unusually happy manner. He shook his head, a mixture of embarrassment and surprise that he felt so protective, so... caring of these odd trio. And the girl wasn't half bad, either.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The Saiyan snarled.

At least when she wasn't being loud.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Bardock sat up straight, realizing that the scream wasn't coming from Videl but from his grandsons. A horrified expression crossed his face, and it wasn't clear if it was for the fact his grandsons screamed like teenage girls, or because there was something dreadfully wrong. Either way, the red headband wearing Saiyan quickly charged his way back into the home.

* * *

"There," Videl smirked and backed away from the lighted candle and turned her attention to the trembling teenager and excited child. "You're all set! Just turn off the lights once I close the door and say her name three times while looking into the mirror!"

Goten nodded in confirmation, while Gohan raised his shaky hand in the air like he was a student to Videl's teacher. The girl rolled her eyes, placing her hands on her hips. "What is it!?"

"The light will make her go away...right?"

Videl couldn't help but laugh at the sound of him gulping. "Yes, you dork! I'm turning the lights off now, okay?" She turned the switch down, the whole room turning black save the light radiating from the candle. She closed the door behind her, sealing the two Son boys inside while she began to howl in laughter. Chi-Chi poked her head out of the kitchen to see the girl doubled over in tears down the hallway in front of the bathroom.

"Videl," Chi-Chi said in a scolding voice, immediately causing the girl to stand up straight. "You didn't really see Bloody Mary, did you?"

"No ma'am," the girl blushed, smiling sheepishly down her boots. "But at least Goten isn't bored any more."

Chi-Chi nodded in agreement, but dropped the plate when was cleaning when she heard two loud screams coming from the bathroom.

* * *

"Ready?"

"Ready," Gohan gulped, focusing on the mirror. Their figures could hardly be seen due to the candle light, but at least he could tell there were only the two of them in the reflection. He clenched his fists tightly, trying to shake off his wimpyness. For crying out loud, he had traveled through outer space and fought all sorts of hideous, monstrous beings! What was a stupid woman ghost to him!? That's right, nothing! Speaking loudly, more confident now, Gohan stood up straight. "Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary."

"Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary." Goten chanted in unison. The small boy squeezed his brother's much larger hand tightly, waiting for the ghost to appear. He began to pout when a good five minutes had gone by and there was nothing. Continuing to look into the mirror, the child spoke to Gohan. "Do you think Videl was lying- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The boys began screaming loudly in fear, no longer seeing their reflections in the mirror. In their place was a corpse of a once beautiful woman, covered in blood. She screeched loudly, and began reaching out to the boys to strangle their necks with a sinister grin. Gohan began stuttering, letting go of his brother's shoulder to snap him out of his screams. "GOTEN! THE LIGHT! HIT THE LIGHT!"

The boy continued to scream, but quickly reached his arm out to turn the light on. The whole room brightened up once more, and the corpse was gone. All that was left in the room were the two half-Saiyans and a lighted candle. They let out another scream when the door busted open to reveal Videl and Chi-Chi with widened eyes of confusion as to why the boys were so sweaty and trembling.

"What happened?" Videl raised an eyebrow. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"WE DID!" Goten cried, falling to his knees and wailing. "SHE CAME OUT AFTER US!"

"What!?" Videl stammered, and then glanced up at Gohan. "Is this true!"

The teen's eyes were near brimming with tears, not able to shake the sight of the dead, bloody woman from his mind. When all he could do was nod, Videl gasped loudly.

"No way! I was totally lying about seeing it! I didn't think," she placed a hand against her wildly beating heart to calm it down. "That she was real!"

Gohan managed to unfreeze himself, placing his hands on his hips and glowering at the now laughing girl who had ended her dramatics. "You don't believe us, do you!? Why don't you come in here and see for yourself!"Before the girl could speak, the teen had already grabbed her by the wrist and brought Videl inside the bathroom with them. "Close the door, Mom!"

* * *

Chi-Chi blinked once before doing so, shrugging and just assuming her children were weird. As she began to walk away from the bathroom, the woman couldn't help but think about the historical version of Bloody Mary, with the husband and all that. The woman blushed, wondering if perhaps Goku would appear in the mirror if she walked backwards up some stairs with a candle and mirror in either hand.

"Ugh, what's wrong with me!?" Chi-Chi shook her head in disbelief, but found herself rummaging through the closet of her room for a hand held mirror. Once she found it, she eyed a step stool with three steps on it. "Being with him for so long has made me crazy..."

She brought the step stool to the center of the living room, and then lit one of the candles that Videl hadn't taken to the bathroom. Holding it in one hand with the mirror in the other, she began stepped backwards, hoping to see her husband's face.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Chi-Chi screamed when the face of her husband appeared - if her husband had a scar and annoyed scowl. Landing on her bottom, Chi-Chi groaned and looked up at her father-in-law with a scowl. "Why did you do that!?"

"Why the hell were you doing that!?"

"Why did you do that!?"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The two quickly glanced at the direction of the bathroom. Without another word, Bardock reached a hand down to help Chi-Chi out and the two quickly made their way to the screaming young ones.

* * *

Videl rolled her eyes, but decided to play along with the boys. "Fine, fine. I'll chant with you. But I'm telling you right now, nothing is going to happen!"

Goten and Gohan exchanged worried looks with each other, and the three all turned to face the mirror together. Gohan was in the middle; either hand squeezing the two. When Videl felt it, she blushed and was thankful the dark room hid it.

"Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary..."

The three looked at the mirror for five minutes once again, and Videl snorted. "See? It's-"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Videl's heart began racing when the bloody hand of the corpse began reaching towards her. "Oh my God, she's real!"

"GOTEN, THE LIGHT!"

The boy quickly did it, and once more the door busted open. This time, it was their mother and everyone's pissed off Saiyan. "Grandpa!" Goten cried, and ran to Bardock's side to hug his leg. "Oh, it's so terrible! There's a demon in our bathroom!"

"Demon?" Bardock raised an eyebrow, and noticed the terrified looks on Gohan's and Videl's faces. "What the hell is he talking about!?"

"If you were listening," Videl hissed, showing her toughness even through her fear which caused Bardock to roll his eyes. "You'd know what we're talking about! Bloody Mary is real, and she lives in your bathroom mirror!"

"Bullshit," he scoffed, turning his nose up. "That's all it is."

Goten yanked on his grandfather's wrist, but pouted when he realized he wouldn't budge like Videl had. "Grandpa, please! You have to see it for yourself! She's really, really scary!"

Bardock studied the terrified eyes of the young boy and cursed under his breath for caring so much about the little spawn. "Fine, fine." He looked and Chi-Chi and remarked sarcastically: "You stay out here and open the door if you think the demon killed us."

"Got it!"

* * *

"We have to chant her name three times and then wait five minutes!" Gohan began explaining. The line was now made of Videl, Gohan, Bardock, and Goten. The grandfather accepted some hand holding from his youngest grandson, but snarled in disgust when Gohan had tried. Knowing there was no use of trying, Gohan opted with holding Videl's hand only as they all looked into the mirror.

"Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary!"

Bardock's eyes widened in surprise as a bloodied, female corpse had in fact appeared. But unlike his favorite pests, he wasn't screaming in fear as the hand reached towards him. "It's all an illusion. The candle lit has some special affect-" His eyes widened even more and the screams increased the bloody hand had gripped on tightly to Bardock's nails, digging it's nails into him. "Oh, fuck this!"

He let go of Goten's hand and blasted an energy ball into the mirror, causing Bloody Mary's hand to release her grip and fall back. She screamed in horror as the mirror shattered into pieces, and soon enough there was no trace of her. Goten quickly turned on the light while the three young ones looked at him in awe.

"Gramps," Gohan blinked. "You... You did it!"

"You did it, you did it!" Goten cheered wildly, jumping up and down while holding onto his grandfather's hands.

Videl was dumbstruck, not even looking at the door when it had busted open to a very angry Chi-Chi. "He... He killed Bloody Mary."

"HE KILLED MY MIRROR!"

"GRANDPA, RUN!"

* * *

The demon king of the underworld sat in his spiky throne made up of human skulls, looking in disbelief at the trembling woman beneath him. "Mary, what happened to you? Some child ruffle you up a bit?"

She didn't speak to Dabura, but spoke to herself and in tongue as she trudged her way past him. "No more scaring. No more scaring. What a monster. Red-headband monster..."

Dabura raised an eyebrow watching the weird woman talk to herself. He signaled for one of his horned lackeys to come over and quickly get her out of the way. He was expecting a wizard named Babidi who had a proposition for him, and he wasn't going to let some worn out legend be in his way!

* * *

 **A/N** : Lmao! I hope someone enjoyed this hahaha. It just inspires me to keep on continuing Walking Towards the Sunset :-) Thank you so, so much.


End file.
